International studio WHY Architecture has released images of the Dib Bangkok museum, which it claims will be “Thailand’s first museum dedicated to international contemporary art”.
Set to open in Bangkok in December 2025, the 71,000-square-foot (6,596-square-metres) museum will be housed in a 1980s warehouse renovated by WHY Architecture and crowned with a sawtooth roof.
Once open, the museum will showcase both Thai and international contemporary art intended to serve as “a bridge between Thailand and the global arts scene”.
“Dib Bangkok is Thailand’s first major museum dedicated to international contemporary art,” the studio said.
The institution was founded by Thai businessman Purat Osathanugrah, in honour of his late father Petch Osathanugrah, whose collection of artworks will compose Dib Bangkok’s collection.
“Bangkok, with all its energy, creativity, and unstoppable spirit, has long been overdue for an anchor to its contemporary art scene that matches its vibrancy,” Osathanugrah said.
“We’re building Dib Bangkok to be a true creative oasis, a bridge between Thailand, Southeast Asia, and the global art scene.”
Containing 11 galleries, the three-storey museum is flanked at ground level by a spacious, tiled courtyard where a curved staircase leads up to a raised walkway.
The building’s largely-concrete structure was completed with an entirely glazed ground floor, while its more discrete upper levels are punctuated with protruding windows.
Additional spaces include the Chapel, a distinctive cone-shaped gallery, which is complete with a mosaic-tiled exterior and a skylight, and sits among a water feature.
A similarly rounded “penthouse” structure, which will be used for hosting events, sits atop the museum’s roof and is accessed via an external staircase.
